These are the 4 teams still in the running for Kirk Cousins - report
With the start of the NFL’s free agent signing period less than two weeks away, the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes are heating up.
The field of serious candidates for Cousins’ services is down to four, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The reported finalists are the Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets.
“Those teams privately are planning how to pursue Cousins, how to structure a contract for him and how to land him, league sources told Schefter. Most of those teams are thinking short-term deals, potentially three years, with a very high guarantee in the contract,” ESPN reported.
Cousins is expected to become a free agent when the free agent signing period opens on March 14. Cousins played under the franchise tag the past two seasons in Washington, but it’s not likely that the Redskins will franchise him again, especially after they obtained Alex Smith from Kansas City during the offseason. In fact, Redskins senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams said as much this week.
Since becoming the starter three years ago, Cousins has been prolific, throwing for 4,000 yards each season. Since 2015, he is fourth in passing yards, sixth in quarterback rating, and eighth in touchdown passes.
But one giant hole in his resume is playoff wins — he has none, and he’s appeared in only one postseason game.
Wherever he winds up, Cousins, 29, is expected to get a lucrative deal that could exceed the $137 million contract that Jimmy Garoppolo signed last month with the San Francisco 49ers. Cousins might even become the highest-paid player in the game.
“Is money a part of it? Sure. Is it the only thing? No,” Cousins told NBC Sports recently. “It is about winning, and that’s what I want more than anything, so I’m going to be willing to make sacrifices or do what has to be done to make sure I’m in the best possible position to win, and that’s what the focus is going to be.”
Looking at the four suitors still in the mix to sign Cousins, the Vikings are obviously in the best position to win now, since they made it to the NFC Championship Game last season. But they have three quarterbacks — Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford — all of whom are about to become free agents. Will the Vikings look for an upgrade in Cousins?
The Broncos and Jets both finished 5-11 in 2017, but they could be just a quarterback away from becoming a playoff contender. Both squads have gaping holes at the quarterback position that Cousins could fill. Thus, signing the quarterback could potentially turn their fortunes around. Both teams also have plenty of cap space.
The Cardinals are appealing as well. They finished 8-8 in the tough NFC West and have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Also, with the retirement of Carson Palmer, they currently have no starting quarterback, so Cousins would step into a pretty good situation.
However, according to The Arizona Republic, the Cardinals are about $23 million under the salary cap and Cousins will likely command more than that on an annual basis. But, additional cap space could be created if they want to go all in on Cousins.
It’s the NFL’s version of March Madness, and it starts in less than two weeks.
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